This film is one of the greatest bad movies ever made. I have viewed "Plan 9 from Outer Space" on numerous occasions. In fact, at times I have grown weary of the movie and avoided it for a year or two. I eventually feel the need to watch it again and pull the DVD off the shelf. Though I can remember many parts of it scene for scene, the experience is one I will never outgrow - especially when my repeat viewing is done with someone else who has never seen it before.

What makes this a legend and an icon among the multitudes of bad movies? That it is entertaining, despite (or because of) all its faults, must be a significant reason. People watch films to be entertained. Ed Wood's masterpiece is definitely entertaining.

Open with Criswell, staring intently at the camera. He immediately delivers an imperative monologue that is pure genius. There is no way I could say those same lines without collapsing in laughter, but Criswell powers through the hilarious dialog like a man experiencing rapture. This is serious! Grave robbers from outer space are waiting for us in the future! Do you have the fortitude to believe me or is mankind doomed by your narrow mindedness? Listen!

Good grief, but that opening is the exact preface needed for a movie like "Plan 9 from Outer Space."

Large portions of the story take place in a graveyard near the Trent's home. The Ghoul Man's wife is buried there during the first few minutes of the story. The poor old man (at this point he is still alive) stumbles home. He is so distracted by thoughts of his departed love that he walks into traffic and is quickly turned into roadkill. Funny thing, I once went to the arcade shortly after losing a dog who was hit by a car. What did I play? Frogger. After about the fourth quarter, the macabre connection clicked in my pre-teen brain and I stop sacrificing green amphibians to the byte highway.

In any case, a flying saucer lands in the graveyard after the mourners depart the first service. The deceased wife is raised from the dead to become Vampire Girl. Her first victims are the gravediggers. Later, the old man is also resurrected as Ghoul Man. Both of the undead trap Inspector Clay between them and he becomes the third victim. Following his funeral, the massive police officer is also turned into a shambling ghoul. Why are the aliens raising the dead and causing them to kill the living?

Maybe somebody should have asked the aliens. A couple of questions are definitely in order after flying saucers appear in the sky over Hollywood. One of them also scares the underpants off of Jeff while he is at the controls of a commercial airliner. The saucers buzz around for a while before congregating in one patch of sky so the army can shoot sparklers at the ships. Eventually, the aliens get bored with the pyrotechnics and zip away.

When you finally see the aliens, they also become a source of entertainment. Eros and Tanna are dressed like characters from a high school production of "Peter Pan" (if both of them were playing Peter). Needless to say, a pair of adults wearing such attire is an oddity, even in California. We then find out that using the dead as mindless killers is "Plan 9" in the standard operational handbook. I would presume that the previous eight options were even less effective than using three zombies to depopulate a planet of three billion.

That works out pretty good, doesn't it? Each zombie need only dispatch a billion humans. Friends, I am being sarcastic. We can breed faster than the ghouls could kill us. In fact, if people learned to quickly walk away from the undead, deaths due to alien zombies would drop to nearly zero. Why not zero? I have read enough Yahoo News to know that people always manage to get killed in ways that defy belief. As many morons exist on planet Earth, one is going to fall asleep at the wrong time or try to run from Tor in high heels (the latter might be Ed Wood himself).

The sets are an important part of any movie; this is no exception. Lots of action takes place in the graveyard, which is populated with barely believable trees, tiny crypts, and wobbly gravestones. The inside of Eros' flying saucer is even better: a couple of dials on the wall and cheap wooden tables with miscellaneous equipment on them is used to depict the control room of a highly advanced spacecraft. Do not get me wrong, a sufficiently advanced technological race could easily create a ship with a control room completely devoid of gadgets. However, they would not then fill it with furniture from Value City and spare electronics. Unless...it was a race made up entirely of Ed Wood clones and in that case, God help us all.

Nearly forgot to mention that the cockpit of Jeff's airline is separated from the rest of the "plane" by a shower curtain. It should have made the stewardess popping out from behind it more interesting, but did not. Ed Wood started making films like that later on.

While Jeff is away on a flight, the Ghoul Man enters the house and traumatizes Paula. Probably because she was told that she would be performing opposite Bela Lugosi, but discovers the other actor is actually a chiropractor. Yes, poor Bela passed away two years before this film was released, but Ed Wood had shot some footage of the man wearing a black cape. We sometimes see Bela, flourishing his cape, but most of the time the Ghoul man is a chiropractor. The stand-in also has a cape that he cleverly uses to obstruct his face. All you can see are his eyes, peering over the upheld cape (like the one neighbor from "Home Improvement," but dead).

Plan 9 has proven to be less effective than was hoped, so Eros opts for Plan 9B. That means sending the Ghoul Man into the Trents' backyard. A regular convention is going on, with Edwards, the Trents, and some police officers discussing recent events. Once there, the zombie is hit with a powerful decomposure ray (no, it does not make him giggle) that turns the body into a skeleton. Surely, now mankind will tremble before the might of...whatever planet Eros and Tanna come from.

Actually, it causes the perplexed humans to search the graveyard. They finally discover the flying saucer and are allowed inside by Eros. The smug alien realizes too late that letting a group of armed humans into the ship may have been a mistake. Sure, he sent the largest ghoul (that would be Tor) to capture Mrs. Trent, but now Jeff is in the control room. Every time Eros annoys Jeff, the indignant pilot either punches the alien or shoots something.

To head off any punching or shooting, Eros finally explains why he has been pestering Earth with ghouls and rotting chiropractors. Humanity is on the brink of an amazing discovery: solarmanite (or solaranite - it is hard to discern exactly what they are saying). Solarmanite is a bomb that will cause sunlight itself to explode. So powerful is this weapon that the entire universe will be destroyed in a massive chain reaction. That is why mankind must be stopped, at all costs. I presume the following conversation is why Eros does not trust humans.

First Scientist: "And this is the solarmanite bomb."
Second Scientist: "So, what does it do?"
First Scientist: "It causes sunlight to explode."
Second Scientist: "All of it?"
First Scientist: "Well, yes."
Second Scientist: "Wanna set it off?"

Jeff takes this news in stride; he punches Eros. The two fight as everyone except Tanna flees outside. The alien woman tries to get the ship into the air. She finds that the free-for-all between the two males is hampering her efforts, especially after Eros begins ripping up sections of the control panel and throwing them at Jeff. (Does that sound like a good idea to anybody?) Jeff eventually staggers out the hatch as the flying saucer lifts off. Unfortunately, for the aliens, the spaceship is on fire and one of the things that Eros threw at Jeff was the fire suppression system module. A fiery explosion destroys the saucer in midair. Mankind is free to discover solarmanite and reduce the universe to ash. Hooray!

Why do I always feel like a monkey with a hand grenade?

The dialog in "Plan 9 from Outer Space" is priceless. Sometimes it even makes sense. Most of the time it flies completely in the face of reason or contradicts things we watched. Eros' explanation of how the solarmanite bomb works, using a gas can and old rags in the analogy, is really funny. In almost every case, the preposterous lines are delivered with utmost sincerity. The commander that Eros and Tanna report to at intervals is an exception to that rule. He seems nonplussed and even rolls his eyes after one choice exchange.

Things I Learned From This Movie:

Funerals are often scheduled for 4:00 am.

Spacecraft developed by advanced aliens are unable to fly without wobbling.

Police officers are taught to use their service revolvers to scratch an itch or gesture.

Artillery is used for low altitude anti-aircraft defense.

A fat man rising from his grave will cast a shadow that looks like Darth Vader.

There are "atmospheric conditions" in outer space.

Sunlight is flammable.

Earth has the best uniforms.

Revolvers use clips.

Stuff To Watch For:

3 mins - Listening to a kooky psychic tell me that I will be spending the rest of my life in the future, as I watch a B&W film from 1958, is strangely amusing.

Criswell: "My friends, we cannot keep this a secret any longer. Let us punish the guilty; let us reward the innocent. My friends, can your hearts stand the shocking facts about grave robbers from outer space?"

Policeman: "Suppose that saucer or whatever it was had something to do with this?" Inspector: "Your guess is as good as mine Larry. One thing's sure: Inspector Clay's dead, murdered, and somebody's responsible."

Alien Commander: "Plan 9 deals with the resurrection of the dead. Long distance electrodes shot into the pineal pituitary glands of recent dead. Have you attempted any of this plan as yet?" Eros: "Yes, Excellency." Alien Commander: "How successful has it been?" Eros: "We have risen two so far. We shall be just as successful on more."

This is one of the deepest and most meaningful movies I've ever seen. Its antiwar message was ahead of its time, its special effects are creative, its acting is inspiring. Bela Lugosi gives the performance of his life, and Dudley Manlove is clearly serious about tackling such an important role as Eros. I urge you to see this film, you will never forget it.

What can I say about this film that hasn't been said already before? I know! Here's MY favorite line: it's the scene where the general has his tanks shoot at the flying saucers. The narrator tells us,"The general makes the most important decision of his life-he gives the order to open fire." Without question the movie that defined "So bad, it's good." This one is a must-see every bit as much as the first STAR WARS flick, although for entierly different reasons.

This movie deserves so much more than people give it. First of all, YOU CAN'T SEE THE STRINGS!! I must have seen this movie about 7 times now, and there are NO strings. Now, there are shadows on the background from the space ships passing by, but NO strings. Another thing is that Ed Wood was really a terrific writer, but a terrible director. In the movie "ED Wood" by Tim Burton, Ed says that all he wants to do is tell stories. Stories that he finds interesting. And they really are interesting stories. I don't know how many movies he made during his life time, but I know of three, and they all tell really interesting stories. Glen or Glenda is about his transexualism. Bride of the Monster tells of a man outcasted from his country and now wants revenge by creating atomic supermen. Plan 9 From Outer Space talks about man's ignorance for destructionand how aliens must stop man from destroying everything. These are great ideas, unfortunately, Ed Wood Jr. did direct it. He really should have just stuck to writing, and let someone else take over the fine details. My guess of why Ed's movies were so bad was that he worked too fast, and didn't stop and take time to work out the little things that create inconsistencies. Inconsistencies like a shallow lake for a giant octopus (Bride of the Monster). The death of Bela Lugosi in the real world, and then Ed trying to cast a new person to play his dead double (obviously Plan 9). Ed wasn't a bad guy, just a bad director. A good writer, but bad director, so don't judge Mr. Edward D. Wood Jr. harshly.

Gregory Walcot(trent)is my 2nd cousin. He told me a few years ago that he tried to distance himself from this film. After he made it he did not work in Hollywood for several years. What some of you may not know the funding for this film came from a deeply religous man that wanted to make religous films. Ed Wood got him to fund Plan 9 as a way of making lots of $ that could then be used to make the religous movies. Greg was a aspring actor that attended the same church and agreed to do the film as a favor. He said the second we walked on the set, he knew he had made a mistake. He also had a small part in Ed Wood, so he was the only actor in both films. I think he may be the only survivor today.

I must say that this was the most horrid movie I have ever watched.... And let me just say for the record that I loved every minute of it.... Where are all the crappy movies these days that were so good?

I was taking a film-making class thingy during the summer, and the last day, our teacher showed this to us. He pointed out all the mistakes, and other things. It was so funny! And when it first showed the outside of the airplane, it was just a model that was sitting there.. Even the background wasn't moving or anything.. and inside, the 2 pilots aren't controlling the plane!! One is just sitting there, with his hands on his lap, and the other guy is holding something.. And the boss alien dude knew NONE of his lines. You can see his eyes moving sideways, just like he's reading..! And he was reading from a supposed document, but it was the actual script. They found his shirt in that building where they filmed it. It has an axe on it and it's shiny..

One of the few movies ever made that actually lives up to its legend. Absolutely AWFUL! It should never be compared to A-list movies, or even studio made Bs...this baby was an independent, shot on the fringe, "I know a guy who's got a car...", chasing the Hollywood Dream movie. A lot of "fringe" movies are famous for the envelopes they push, the chances they take, the barriers they breech, the taboos they break...this thing just plain sits in the dark and sucks. Knowing the history behind this film and the story of Ed Wood himself just adds to the fun. If you've never seen this movie, do yourself a favor and do some research on Ed and Company first...you'll be glad you did. Only in America can something like this happen and everyone envolved gets away with it, and even becomes famous for it. It's a shame Ed never made any money from it. If he were alive today and still had the rights he'd be a multi-millionare several times over. I can see theme parks sprouting up with Tor Johnson lookalikes wandering around grabbing little kids by the throat. Wanna be actor-college students running around spouting lines like..."They look like...like...like...why, they're flying saucers up there in the graveyard...would you like a gin on the rocks?" Bela Lugosi would be spinning in his grave, if he's still in there. The chiropractor's spinning in his too, at least he can untie his own spine afterwards. This is a must see to believe movie experiance. It reaffirms everyones belief that if they could do it that bad, I know I could do it better...somebody get a camera...the American-Hollywood Dream still lives!

I recently bought this on DVD since I have heard so much about it and it being called the worst film ever. It is funny and does not deserve the title Worst film ever. If I could show you a movie called "FABULOUS" made by a local college kid that plays on cable access all the time. You'd think plan 9 was a masterpeice. It's good cheesy fun and I love that quote "I have go get flashlight from patrol car"